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Women in Horror Month: 6 Real Life Lessons From Horror’s Finest Final Girls

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Final Girl Lessons

One of the beautiful benefits of the horror genre is that it allows its audience to witness the worst-case scenario. There’s a lot we can learn from these dreadful situations, whether it’s how to survive should we find ourselves in danger, or just general life lessons.

Yes, that’s right, there are a ton of lessons about personal growth that we can learn from the Final Girls of horror.

Though the examples are a bit extreme, the lessons learned are absolutely applicable in our daily lives. If you’re experiencing trouble with work, relationships, addictions, ambitions, or even home management (burst pipes can happen!), there is wisdom in the morality tales of our favorite scream queens.

So, to celebrate Women in Horror Month, let’s see what we’ve learned.

Laurie Strode (Halloween): Be resourceful, be prepared

via TheMarySue

When Laurie first encounters Michael Myers, she’s certainly at a disadvantage. Protecting two children with no support, Laurie finds herself in a fight for her life using whatever she possibly can. She stabs Michael with a knitting needle, she crafts a makeshift weapon from a coat hanger, and she uses Michael’s own knife against him. Laurie is resourceful when it comes to weapons, and it ends up keeping her alive.

The lesson we can take away here is that if something unexpected comes up, use the resources available to you. Find a tool you can use for assistance, or reach out for support from a friend or professional (Dr. Loomis, perhaps). And if you have concerns that this hiccup may happen again, prepare whatever means you might need to cut its reign of terror short.

Ellen Ripley (Alien): Take no shit

via IFC

Ellen Ripley is notoriously badass. She’s strong, she’s thorough, and she will absolutely call anyone out on their bullshit. When she recognizes a bad plan, Ripley will take charge, tell you that you’re wrong, and lay out all the logic and evidence to make sure you know why.

We could all learn something from Ripley, here. If you know something is wrong, or if you have suggestions to improve, speak up to state your case. It’s better to be heard than filled with regret (or dead, if there are aliens after you).

Ginny Field (Friday the 13th Part 2): Work smarter, not harder

via Fridaythe13thFandom

When you’re going up against an obstacle as big as Jason Voorhees, you can’t just pound your way through it. Ginny knew that she was going to have to work smarter – not harder – if she wanted to survive. An aspiring child psychologist, she discovered the root of Jason’s problem and used it to her advantage.

If you have a particularly challenging task, step back and find the real source of the issue. You can save your energy by deconstructing the challenge, allowing you to approach it with a clear solution in mind. And let’s face it, you’ll need that extra energy for when your problem rears its ugly head once more.

Sidney Prescott (Scream): Make your own ending

via ReadySetBuzz

When faced with a horrible end concocted by two movie-obsessed maniacs, Sidney said no. She refused to let someone else determine her life; she’s the director of her own movie, and no one can take that from her.

This is a good lesson to keep in mind. Stay true to your goals and don’t give up. If there is something you’re passionate about, don’t let it go. And if someone or something else is keeping you from that goal, kindly tell them to fuck off.

Nancy Thompson (A Nightmare on Elm Street): Be your own hero

via PopMythology

When Nancy was in danger, she didn’t wait for someone to save her. She geared up, set an alarm, and went in to do the damn thing herself.

If you’re not where you want to be, you’ve gotta pull yourself out of that hole. Don’t wait for someone to come along and offer you the perfect opportunity; you have to put in the hard-as-hell work to make your own dreams come true.

Sally Hardesty (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre): Stay strong and know your exits

via CineOutsider

In the face of immeasurable terror, Sally stayed strong and found her way out. Again, and again, and again. She ran away, she jumped through windows (twice), and through the trauma, she never gave up.

This lesson really goes hand-in-hand with the last one. When you find yourself in times of trouble, mark the nearest exits so you can get the hell out of there. You may get dragged back, but stay strong. Eventually, that trouble will be far behind you.

What life lessons have you learned from horror films? Share in the comments!

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The Pope’s Exorcist Officially Announces New Sequel

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The Pope’s Exorcist is one of those films that’s just fun to watch. It isn’t the most terrifying film around, but there’s something about Russel Crow (Gladiator) playing a wise cracking Catholic priest that just feels right.

Screen Gems seems to agree with this assessment, as they have just officially announced that The Pope’s Exorcist sequel is in the works. It makes sense that Screen Gems would want to keep this franchise going, considering the first film scared up almost $80 million with a budget of only $18 million.

The Pope's Exorcist
The Pope’s Exorcist

According to Crow, there may even be a The Pope’s Exorcist trilogy in the works. However, recent changes with the studio may have put the third film on hold. In a sit-down with The Six O’Clock Show, Crow gave the following statement about the project.

“Well that’s in discussion at the moment. The producers originally got the kick off from the studio not just for one sequel but for two. But there’s been a change of studio heads at the moment, so that’s going around in a few circles. But very definitely, man. We set that character up that you could take him out and put him into a lot of different circumstances.”

Crow has also stated that film’s source material involves twelve separate books. This would allow the studio to take the story in all kinds of directions. With that much source material, The Pope’s Exorcist could even rival The Conjuring Universe.

Only the future will tell what becomes of The Pope’s Exorcist. But as always, more horror is always a good thing.

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New ‘Faces of Death’ Remake Will Be Rated R For “Strong Bloody Violence and Gore”

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In a move that should surprise absolutely no one, the Faces of Death reboot has been given an R rating from the MPA. Why has the film been given this rating? For strong bloody violence, gore, sexual content, nudity, language, and drug use, of course.

What else would you expect from a Faces of Death reboot? It would honestly be alarming if the film received anything less than an R rating.

Faces of death
Faces of Death

For those unaware, the original Faces of Death film released in 1978 and promised viewers video evidence of real deaths. Of course, this was just a marketing gimmick. Promoting a real snuff film would be a terrible idea.

But the gimmick worked, and franchise lived on in infamy. The Faces of Death reboot is hoping to gain the same amount of viral sensation as its predecessor. Isa Mazzei (Cam) and Daniel Goldhaber (How to Blow Up a Pipeline) will spearhead this new addition.

The hope is that this reboot will do well enough to recreate the infamous franchise for a new audience. While we don’t know much about the film at this point, but a joint statement from Mazzei and Goldhaber gives us the following info on the plot.

“Faces of Death was one of the first viral video tapes, and we are so lucky to be able to use it as a jumping off point for this exploration of cycles of violence and the way they perpetuate themselves online.”

“The new plot revolves around a female moderator of a YouTube-like website, whose job is to weed out offensive and violent content and who herself is recovering from a serious trauma, that stumbles across a group that is recreating the murders from the original film. But in the story primed for the digital age and age of online misinformation, the question faced is are the murders real or fake?”

The reboot will have some bloody shoes to fill. But from the looks of it, this iconic franchise is in good hands. Unfortunately, the film does not have a release date at this time.

That’s all the information we have at this time. Make sure to check back here for more news and updates.

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Movie Reviews

Panic Fest 2024 Review: ‘The Ceremony Is About To Begin’

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People will look for answers and belonging in the darkest places and the darkest people. The Osiris Collective is a commune predicated upon ancient Egyptian theology and was run by the mysterious Father Osiris. The group boasted dozens of members, each forgoing their old lives for one held in the Egyptian themed land owned by Osiris in Northern California. But the good times take a turn for the worst when in 2018, an upstart member of the collective named Anubis (Chad Westbrook Hinds) reports Osiris disappearing while mountain climbing and declaring himself the new leader. A schism ensued with many members leaving the cult under Anubis’ unhinged leadership. A documentary is being made by a young man named Keith (John Laird) whose fixation with The Osiris Collective stems from his girlfriend Maddy leaving him for the group several years ago. When Keith gets invited to document the commune by Anubis himself, he decides to investigate, only to get wrapped up in horrors he couldn’t even imagine…

The Ceremony Is About To Begin is the latest genre twisting horror film from Red Snow‘s Sean Nichols Lynch. This time tackling cultist horror along with a mockumentary style and the Egyptian mythology theme for the cherry on top. I was a big fan of Red Snow‘s subversiveness of the vampire romance sub-genre and was excited to see what this take would bring. While the movie has some interesting ideas and a decent tension between the meek Keith and the erratic Anubis, it just doesn’t exactly thread everything together in a succinct fashion.

The story begins with a true crime documentary style interviewing former members of The Osiris Collective and sets-up what led the cult to where it is now. This aspect of the storyline, especially Keith’s own personal interest in the cult, made it an interesting plotline. But aside from some clips later on, it doesn’t play as much a factor. The focus is largely on the dynamic between Anubis and Keith, which is toxic to put it lightly. Interestingly, Chad Westbrook Hinds and John Lairds are both credited as writers on The Ceremony Is About To Begin and definitely feel like they’re putting their all into these characters. Anubis is the very definition of a cult leader. Charismatic, philosophical, whimsical, and threateningly dangerous at the drop of a hat.

Yet strangely, the commune is deserted of all cult members. Creating a ghost town that only amps up the danger as Keith documents Anubis’ alleged utopia. A lot of the back and forth between them drags at times as they struggle for control and Anubis keeps continuing to convince Keith to stick around despite the threatening situation. This does lead to a pretty fun and bloody finale that fully leans into mummy horror.

Overall, despite meandering and having a bit of a slow pace, The ceremony Is About To Begin is a fairly entertaining cult, found footage, and mummy horror hybrid. If you want mummies, it delivers on mummies!

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